Fox Business GOP debate nets 11M viewers

Thursday night’s Republican presidential primary debate brought in an average of 11 million viewers, according to Neilson ratings reported Friday by CNN.

The Fox Business Network debate was the sixth for GOP candidates this cycle and ranked as the lowest-rated Republican forum.

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The debate season kicked off with a record-breaking 25 million viewers for the first Fox News debate in August. Viewership has steadily declined since then, but the debates still average much higher ratings than previous cycles.

Fox Business Network counted the debate as the second most watched program on the station in history, behind the 13.5 million viewers it brought in during a debate in November.

CNN reported that the debate’s Internet livestream peaked at a little more than 1 million simultaneous viewers.

The debate stage only featured seven candidates Tuesday night as the field narrows ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Republicans will face off against one another one more time before the first nominating contest. That debate is scheduled for Jan. 28 on Fox News.

Democratic candidates will also face off in their fourth debate on Sunday in Charleston, S.C., on NBC News.